Local communities confront dwindling burial space

As space to bury the deceased dwindles across the South Shore and beyond, Marshfield officials are backing a proposed land purchase to expand Cedar Grove Cemetery. But the town must first secure the up-front funding, which has proven difficult for cash-strapped communities with other priorities. The department of public wo...

By Jessica Trufant

Wicked Local

By Jessica Trufant

Posted Oct. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 14, 2013 at 2:09 PM

By Jessica Trufant

Posted Oct. 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 14, 2013 at 2:09 PM

MARSHFIELD

» Social News

As space to bury the deceased dwindles across the South Shore and beyond, Marshfield officials are backing a proposed land purchase to expand Cedar Grove Cemetery.

But the town must first secure the up-front funding, which has proven difficult for cash-strapped communities with other priorities.

The department of public works is seeking $327,000 to purchase land at 1952 Ocean St. to expand Cedar Grove Cemetery across from town hall. The land adjacent to the cemetery, which is just shy of a half-acre, was at one time the site of the law office of Frank McGee.

The purchase will go before special town meeting for approval on Nov. 4, but officials are not yet certain where the funding will come from.

State law requires communities to provide one or more “suitable” burial spaces for their residents, though residents do not have the right to demand a certain cemetery in communities with more than one.

This mandate forces many South Shore towns to expand public cemeteries or come up with other solutions to accommodate aging populations.

In recent years, Plymouth, Pembroke, Milton, Halifax, Duxbury, Norwell and Braintree have invested in their cemeteries.

Norwell voters at annual town meeting in May allocated $1.06 million for construction of a new town cemetery at Stetson Meadows. The 4.2-acre cemetery will have 700 plots, Lynne Rose of the Norwell Cemetery Committee said.

Rose said the project has been in the making since the 1990s, but it was not until only 20 plots were left at the town’s 19-acre Washington Street Cemetery that it got attention.

“We had to cut the proposal in half just to get something through, and by state law we have to have a place to bury people,” she said. “With all the demands towns have, it’s getting harder and harder to get done.”

The expansion should be sufficient for eight to 10 years, Rose said. The site has a total of 20 acres for future expansion.

Quincy is also running out of space at its three active city-run cemeteries.

“We are selling plots on an as-needed basis only,” Chris Cassani, the city’s director of parks, forestry and cemetery said.

Cassani said the city is in the process of finalizing a plan to “substantially expand” Pine Hill Cemetery.

In Marshfield, Bob Shaughnessy of the cemetery committee said the land acquisition to expand the cemetery would eventually pay for itself, since the town would sell the plots. But without a funding mechanism to cover the up-front expense, the committee needs town funding.

Due to some pending contractual obligations, Town Administrator Rocco Longo said there is no free cash available for the purchase. Officials plan to explore other options for funding prior to special town meeting.

Stressing the importance of securing additional land, Shaughnessy said Couch Cemetery has only about 800 plots left, 400 of which are filled with ground water.

Page 2 of 2 - “This parcel (at Cedar Grove) would have 200 to 400 plots,” he said. “It would get us over a hump until we redevelop Couch.”

Without the Cedar Grove expansion, Shaughnessy said the town would run out of burial plots in five or six years.

“Other towns already have to say they’re closed. We don’t want to be in that position,” he said.